Kilpatrick's Wife Wants Her Assets Separated

By Associated Press&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Mon 10:47 PM, Apr 19, 2010

The wife of ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick plans to ask a federal judge to intervene in an ongoing restitution case between him and prosecutors, according to a draft of a document obtained by The Associated Press. In the 13-page document, Carlita Kilpatrick seeks to separate assets belonging to her and the couple's three young sons from those of her husband. He is involved in a legal battle with prosecutors over the $1 million in restitution he agreed to pay the city following pleas in 2008 to two criminal cases tied to a text-messaging sex scandal involving a former aide. Carlita Kilpatrick's attorney, Bobbie Edmonds, said Monday night in an e-mail to the AP that the document will not be filed until Tuesday in Texas. "It is not finalized nor signed by me yet. I will not comment until I have my official file-marked petition," Edmonds said. The draft of a complaint and request for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief is addressed to the U.S. District Court in Forth Worth, Texas. The document has not been signed by a judge. It names Wayne County and Prosecutor Kym Worthy as defendants. The document asks a judge to stop Wayne County and Worthy "from taking any further action to capture the assets of Plaintiffs to satisfy the restitution of Probationer, Kwame Kilpatrick." "Plaintiffs also pray that the court issue a declaratory order holding that the assets of Plaintiffs cannot be used satisfy the restitution of Probationer," the draft reads. Kwame Kilpatrick is due in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon before Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner, who could make a ruling in Kilpatrick's probation violation case. Kilpatrick is charged with violating his probation by not making a full $79,000 restitution payment by a February deadline. Prosecutors also have said Kilpatrick has been untruthful about his finances and those of his wife. In the draft document, Carlita Kilpatrick argues that Wayne County and Worthy are seeking to force her husband to use money belonging to her or the couple's sons toward his $1 million restitution. Worthy spokeswoman Maria Miller said Monday night that the prosecutor's office would not comment on the document "because we don't want the last-minute filing to affect procedures tomorrow in Detroit." Kwame Kilpatrick was released from jail in February 2009 after serving 99 days as part of the plea deals in the 2008 text-messaging sex scandal. The messages were left on city-issued pagers and contradicted testimony the two gave during a 2007 whistle-blowers' lawsuit trial. Worthy charged them in March 2008 with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice, and Kilpatrick resigned that September. His wife, twin 14-year-old sons and 8-year-old son later moved to an exclusive community outside Dallas. He joined them after getting out of jail and obtaining a job as a software salesman with Texas-based Covisint. Groner ordered Kilpatrick to pay 30 percent of his salary toward restitution. The family eventually moved into a rented mansion, and leased or bought luxury sport utility vehicles. A peek by Worthy's office into the couple's finances and bank accounts revealed Carlita Kilpatrick and their sons had received more than $50,000 in gifts from Detroit business people and that a civic fund started while Kilpatrick was mayor helped pay their moving expenses. It also was learned that Kwame Kilpatrick had received $240,000 in loans from four powerful businessmen and almost immediately signed the checks over to his wife. Kilpatrick also moved thousands of dollars from accounts in his name to his wife's accounts to avoid reporting the money or applying it to restitution, prosecutors said. A percentage of the money from the gifts and civic fund was to have been paid in the $79,000 February restitution payment. Groner ordered Kilpatrick to pay the full $240,000 in loans this month. Among the funds the documents claims are being sought for restitution is $39,000 in educational funds established in 1998 for each twin son and $34,000 established in 2002 for the youngest son. He also has been ordered to turn over the entire $23,369 from the couple's 2008 federal income tax return. "Defendants are attempting to capture these funds despite the fact that these funds were established prior to the inception of the legal troubles of their father, Mr. Kwame Kilpatrick," according to the document. "Neither Plaintiff Carlita Kilpatrick nor the minor children are parties to the criminal proceedings pertaining to the probation of Kwame Kilpatrick."

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